A lot of animals are tested upon and killed in the name of science, particularly biomedical research. In conversation, many people adopt a utilitarian attitude – the lives and deaths of these non-human animals is to benefit human health, an acceptable trade off. But what if it wasn’t benefiting human health – and what if, before the experiments even began, there was a solid chance the research would never, ever have human applications? Those are some of the questions being posed by the Center for Contemporary Sciences, a new organization that is, quote, “pioneering a paradigm shift towards innovative, evidence-based research methods that are based on human biology. Through collaboration, we champion technologies that are better for humans and that replace animal testing.” Dr. Jarrod Bailey, Director of Science and Technology at the Center for Contemporary Sciences, joined Defender Radio to discuss the current state of animal testing and why it continues to fail, the results of a just published paper following up on so-called breakthroughs using animal testing in decades past, and we even get into the use of squalene in COVID vaccinations and animals being tested on during a pandemic. Some of the content of this episode may be upsetting to listeners as we discuss animal testing; if you’d like to learn more about the work of the CCS without listening, please visit contemporarysciences.org. Center for Contemporary Sciences: https://contemporarysciences.org/ Clinical impact of high-profile animal-based research reported in the UK national press (study): https://openscience.bmj.com/content/4/1/e100039 Coronavirus Vaccine Makers Are Not Mass-Slaughtering Sharks (NY Times article): https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/13/science/sharks-vaccines-covid-squalene.html

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

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